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Malawi

https://www.idea.int/democracytracker/

September 2025

Malawi enacts last minute reforms to enfranchise election day workers

On 3 September, President Lazarus Chakwera signed into law the Presidential, Parliamentary and Local Government Elections Amendment Act, a piece of legislation intended to facilitate election day workers to cast their ballots. It does so by empowering the electoral commission to authorise workers (polling staff, political party agents, candidate representatives and members of the security forces) to vote where they are deployed, rather than having to return to the constituency in which they are registered. According to the government, the law is expected to enfranchise 80,000 of these voters. However, the law’s explicit exclusion of journalists and independent observers has been criticised by opposition parties and civil society, who have emphasised the important role these groups play in ensuring the integrity of elections. The law was enacted less than two weeks before the country’s general elections on 16 September.  

Sources: Parliament of Malawi, ISS Africa, Malawi 24    

August 2025

Prisoners abused at Mikuyu Prison

In a report released on 5 August, the Malawi Human Rights Commission revealed that prisoners at the country’s Mikuyu 1 Prison had been subjected to serious human rights abuses. The Commission’s investigation, carried out in January 2025, confirmed the death of one inmate from traumatic injury and found allegations that five inmates had been tortured to death and then buried in secret. It also established that prison staff had sanctioned beatings by prisoners against other inmates, that more than 100 prisoners were severely malnourished and that the abuses had contributed to a mental health crisis within the facility.

Sources: Malawi Human Rights Commission, Nation Online 

July 2025

Court rules criminal defamation law unconstitutional

On 16 July, Malawi’s Constitutional Court delivered a judgement striking down a section of the penal code criminalising defamation, finding that it was a disproportionate and unjustified restriction on freedom of expression and therefore unconstitutional. The ruling, which took had immediate effect, prohibits further prosecutions under the offending provision. It was welcomed by the Malawian chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa, which said that the threat of prosecution for defamation had had a chilling effect on journalists, activists and ordinary citizens. The case was brought by social media activist, Joshua Chisa Mbele, who had been charged with defaming Malawi’s then-Army Commander, General Vincent Nundwe. 

Sources: Southern African Litigation Centre (1), Centre for Human Rights - University of PretoriaAfrica LegalSouthern African Litigation Centre (2)

December 2024

Parliament passes landmark judicial reform bills

On 20 December, Malawi’s National Assembly passed three bills, which will introduce a comprehensive regulatory framework for the judiciary that is intended to strengthen its independence and accountability. Among other things, the new framework expands the powers of the judicial regulator, the Judicial Service Commission, it creates an Independent Complaints Commission to receive and address public grievances against judicial officers, and it establishes a Judiciary Fund to ensure adequate funding for the judicial system and protect its financial independence. The long-awaited reforms have been championed by the Malawi Law Society which, among other organisations, has alleged systemic corruption within the country’s judiciary. On 28 January, State House announced that President Chakwera had assented to the Judicial Service Administration Bill and the Constitution (Amendment) Bill. No mention was made of the third bill, the Courts (Amendment) Bill.    

Sources: Parliament of Malawi (1), Parliament of Malawi (2), Parliament of Malawi (3), Malawi Law Society, The Tablet, Deutsche Welle, Capital FM Malawi   

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Global ranking per category of democratic performance in 2024

Chevron
Representation
65/173
Rights
90/173
Rule of Law
54/173
Participation
50/173

Basic Information

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Population Tooltip
21 655 286
System of government
Presidential system
Head of government
President Lazarus Chakwera (since 2020)
Head of government party
Malawi Congress Party
Electoral system for lower or single chamber
First Past the Post
Women in lower or single chamber
20.7%
Women in upper chamber
Not applicable
Last legislative election
2019
Effective number of political parties Tooltip
7.64
Head of state
President Lazarus Chakwera
Selection process for head of state
Direct election (plurality)
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) date
03/11/2020
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) percentage of recommendations supported
82.76%
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Human Rights Treaties

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State Party State party
Signatory Signatory
No Action No action
United Nations Human Right Treaties
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
State Party
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
State Party
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
State Party
Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
State Party
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment
State Party
Convention on the Rights of the Child
State Party
International Convention on Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
State Party
International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance 
State Party
International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
State Party
International Labour Organisation Treaties
Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention
State Party
Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention
State Party
Equal Remuneration Convention
State Party
Abolition of Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention
State Party
Convention concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment
State Party
Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention
State Party
Regional Treaties
African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights
State Party
in
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Performance by category over the last 6 months

Representation neutral Representation
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Representation neutral Rights
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Representation neutral Rule of law
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Representation neutral Participation
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Global State of Democracy Indices

Hover over the trend lines to see the exact data points across the years

Explore the indices
Representation
Representation
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Rights
Rights
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Rule of Law
Rule of Law
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Participation
Participation
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4

Factors of Democratic Performance Over Time

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